As Aussies battle a cold and wet winter, many are struggling to heat their homes properly - an issue experts say could be contributing to a range of poor health outcomes.
With colder temperatures hitting hard, coupled with soaring gas and electricity prices, many households are finding it impossible to heat their homes.
In fact, according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended ‘safe temperature’ for a house, many are not living in adequate conditions.
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The health body recommends homes should not dip below 18C.
However, concerning new research by Better Renting found many homes are below 18C - for a shocking 70 per cent of the time.
One Australian, who knows this struggle all too well, is Adelaide tenant Shay who resides along with her partner in a loft-style apartment that used to be a warehouse, with no heating and exposed brick walls.
She said the temperature inside the rental home is currently sitting at, on average, 13C - much lower than the recommended safe temperature.
And she’s not alone.
Across the country, residents have expressed their discomfort in a national poll, which found that two in three renters have had difficulty keeping a comfortable temperature in their home.
Not only are these Aussies living in discomfort, but they are also at a heightened risk of experiencing cardiovascular and respiratory disease, as well as a range of mental health issues.
‘It’s just depressing’: Aussies share their struggle
Shay, told 7NEWS.com.au her health has declined, both physically and mentally, this winter due to her living conditions.
“We’ve enquired about getting some sort of air conditioning installed, but they said because it’s a historic building it can’t be done,” Shay said.
Shay, who also suffers from a chronic illness which is worsened by the cold, says she finds it “hard to function”, especially when she is working from home.
But aside from the obvious physical impacts, Shay says the frosty conditions have also taken a toll on her mental health as well as that of her partner.
“I think that ultimately it really impacts on mental health as well because we can’t really get much sunshine as we try to keep the windows covered as much as possible to keep the warmth in,” she said.
“So it’s just extremely depressing, and it also makes it very difficult to carry out any sort of essential self-care tasks.”
Shay said she would like to see more done by landlords and industry bodies to help struggling Aussies during these cold winter months.
What are the risks?
When it comes down to it, WHO recommends that indoor housing temperatures “should be high enough to protect residents from the harmful health effects of the cold”.
“For countries with temperate or colder climates, 18 °C has been proposed as a safe and well-balanced indoor temperature to protect the health of general populations during cold seasons,” their guidelines state.
“In climate zones with a cold season, efficient and safe thermal insulation should be installed in new housing and retrofitted in existing housing.”
Not only can the cold air cause general discomfort and poor mental health outcomes, but it can also inflame lungs and inhibit circulation, according to the National Library of Medicine
“This increases the risk of respiratory conditions, such as asthma attacks or symptoms, worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and infection,” they said.
They also attributed cold temperatures in a home to be associated with increased blood pressure, and poor mental health.
What needs to be done?
With predictions from climate scientists of lower temperatures coupled with continuous extreme weather events such as La Niña, many are calling for more to be done to help protect tenants and ensure they have adequate shelter.
A cohort of 75 organisations is urging governments to accelerate policy changes to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards to better protect the health of Australian renters.
In 2019, the COAG Energy Council agreed to make existing buildings more energy efficient by 2030, including minimum energy efficiency standards for all rental properties.
However, many jurisdictions are yet to commit to implement such standards, with only Victoria and the ACT taking public action on this front.
Many renters also say their landlords won’t pay for insulation or air conditioning.
Yet, there remains a huge discrepancy in the number of rental homes which are insulated compared to owner-occupied homes.
Robert Crawford, associate professor in construction and environmental assessment at Melbourne University, says the discrepancy results from owners who don’t live in their properties having no financial incentive to make them energy-efficient.
“It’s something that’s hidden from tenants until they get in there and start using the heating and the cooling,” he says.
Wallabies warm up in front of a heater.
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